Joys of Hazard
by Eternal Fire
Summary: Cole and Westlake stake out a high profile drug meeting and walk into a trap!


# Disclaimer:I do not own any of the characters of the TV series Viper.I am merely using them in this story.It is intended for non-profit use only.

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# Joys of Hazard

Cole and Westlake sat in the viper waiting patiently for the deal to go down.A local informant of Westlake's had told them about a high-powered drug dealer named Dorian coming to Metro attempting to set up shop.He was meeting with several local dealers and suppliers to set up a network for distribution of heroine and cocaine.The meeting was supposed to take place in an abandoned building in the older portion of the warehouse district.

The viper team was parked behind an old semi trailer diagonal to the warehouse, which gave them an excellent viewing location.

"Westlake, are you sure about this?We've been sitting here for two hours!" Cole stated as he cracked his neck.Cameron glared at him slightly.

"Look…Eddy is a reliable source.If he said that Dorian's gonna be here, he'll be here," Westlake answered firmly.Cole gave her his trademark lopsided grin, and Cameron couldn't help but return the gesture.She'd come to like that goofy looking grin from her partner.

They both became serious when they saw three black vans pull up in front of the warehouse.Cole released the probe to recon the meeting, and they waited to see what would happen.

Ten minutes later, a black limousine pulled up behind the vans, and Cole zoomed in on the occupants.

A man in his early thirties stepped out.He had short, black hair and wore a long, black trench coat.

"That must be Dorian," Cole stated.

"Yeah, he fits the description that Eddy described," Westlake confirmed.

"Frankie, Dorian's here.Have the locals surround the area; we'll wait to see what goes down here," Cole stated.

"Right Cole," Frankie replied from the compound.

Cole moved the probe to one of the skylight windows to observe what happened inside.They could see Dorian speaking with some of the local dealers.He had one of his associates open a briefcase.One half had at least a million dollars in cash, while the other had two kilograms of cocaine.

"Gentlemen, I look forward to working with all of you, and I'm sure that we'll have a very profitable future together," Dorian laughed.

"I'd say that we've seen enough," Cole said sarcastically.

"What's the plan?" Westlake asked.

"All right, I'll take the defender through the front; you take the back in case any of them make a run for it," Cole stated.Westlake grinned at him.

"Oh sure, leave me the mopping up job while you have all the fun," she teased.She went to open the door, but Cole took her arm.

"Hey, watch yourself, Cameron, something about this doesn't feel right; it's too easy!" Cole stated worriedly.Westlake smiled at him reassuringly.

"Hey Tom, relax, I'm a big girl; I can take care of myself," she said firmly.Cole grinned at her as she headed for the rear of the warehouse.There was something weird about that exchange; Cameron never called him by his first name.

"Frankie, it's me.Westlake's heading for the back entrance; I'm gonna go pay these boys a visit," Cole stated.

"Gotcha, Cole, I'll have Metro PD on standby for back-up," Frankie replied.

Cole revved up the defender and roared through the front wall of the warehouse, taking Dorian and the others completely by surprise.

"This is the police, throw down your weapons, and put your hands on your head," Cole ordered as he opened the weapons' panels.Dorian only smirked at him.

"We've been expecting you," he sneered.Suddenly, over twenty men appeared from behind the stacks of crates and opened fired on the defender.

Cole tried to see through the parry of bullets.These weren't normal bullets; they were armor piercing.

"Dammit Frankie, it was a trap; I'm a sitting duck in here," Cole growled.

"Cole, get the hell out of there," Westlake ordered from her headset.Cole threw it into reverse only to be confronted by a forklift raising his rear tires off the ground.

"Frankie, my rear wheels are useless now, and I can't change to four wheel drive without them on the ground," Cole stated."These guys are firing armor-piercing bullets, and the Defenders armor is not gonna last long."

"Metro PD will be there in less than two minutes, Cole, hang on," Frankie said nervously.

"Frankie, there has to be something I can do," Westlake demanded.

"No way, Westlake, you'll be turned into Swiss cheese," Cole answered."Wait a minute…Frankie direct the probe towards the ceiling and fire its laser.I'll do the same, and we'll bring the house down on these guys."

"Gotcha Cole," Frankie stated.The two men directed the defender and probe's laser beams to cut open the metal roofing, and it came crashing down on the gunners.Westlake looked at the men crushed under the roofing, and she managed to set the defender's rear wheels back down on the ground.

"Nice shooting, partners," she quipped.Cole noticed a group heading out the back, and Dorian and his men driving off in their limousine.

"Westlake!" Cole directed.

"I see them," she replied.

"You take the stragglers; I'll take the big fish," Cole stated and roared out of the warehouse.

"Cole, be careful, you've got damage to every major system in the defender; you shouldn't even be doing this!" Frankie said firmly.

"I got no choice; if Dorian escapes, he'll skip the country, and we'll never find him," Cole replied.

As Westlake chased after the three men who took the back door, she was met by a swarm of Metro officers who had apprehended them.She took a minute to catch her breath and hoped that Cole was as lucky as she was.

Cole raced through the night trying to catch up with Dorian's vehicle.

"Frankie, talk to me, where are they headed?" he asked.

"Towards the southwestern part of Metro, there's a small airfield there, and I'll bet that Dorian owns one of the planes," Frankie answered.

"Right, I'm on it," Cole said firmly.

Ten minutes later, Cole spotted the black limousine.They were about two minutes from the airfield, and Cole activated the defender's weapon systems.He fired the machine guns at the tires, but they bounced off.

"Frankie, we got a problem, Dorian's limo has armor-plated tires, not to mention bulletproof windows," Cole explained.

"Try to get in front of them and cut them off," Frankie advised.

"I don't have time.I'll have to try the static pulse," Cole said firmly.

"Cole, don't do it!The defender's systems are nearly shot.The static pulse is an extremely powerful burst that rapidly decreases in power after it launches so that it doesn't harm the occupants of the vehicle it disables.If that generator backfires, it'll take out the defender and you with it," Frankie said worriedly.

Cole could see a plane on the runway of the airport, and it was ready for takeoff.

"Frankie, I've got no choice.If I don't try it, Dorian's gonna escape, I'm sorry."Cole charged up the static pulse generator to its full power.He targeted the limousine and pressed the button.

Seconds later, Frankie heard a blood-curdling scream over the com.

"Cole!" Frankie screamed."Cole, are you there?"

"Frankie, what happened?" Westlake demanded as she came up on the com.

"Westlake, Cole was chasing Dorian towards an airfield on the outskirts of Metro.None of his weapons worked so he tried to use the static pulse.I tried to warn him that with the defender's systems severely damaged that the static pulse could backfire and take him and the defender out instead," Frankie blurted out.

"So, what happened to him?" Westlake asked.Frankie could hear the apprehensive and almost fearful tone in her voice.

"I don't know.He fired the pulse generator, and I heard a scream, but since then, nothing," Frankie said sadly.Westlake felt her heart nearly stop.

"Frankie, give me his last location.I'm about ten minutes from there and get an ambulance out there immediately," Westlake ordered.

Ten minutes later, Westlake climbed out of the police car she'd ridden in and gasped.There was the defender on the side of the road.It looked badly scorched, and Westlake could see the dings from the bullets.

She approached the driver's side door and opened it.Thomas Cole's body spilled out on the pavement.Westlake was immediately at his side.

"Cole…Cole can you hear me?" she demanded as she rolled him over.His arms and legs were badly burned, and his jacket looked like it had been melted to his skin.His hands were a charred black, and his face and neck were burned as well.Cameron gulped at the body in front of her but quickly checked for a pulse.Her heart lifted when she found it, but it was very weak and getting weaker.

"Cam…Cam…Cameron…" a voice choked out.Westlake looked up at his face to see Cole's eyes open but just barely.

"Cole!" she said happily and put a hand on his forehead.She almost thought that she saw a smile on his face as his eyes closed.

"NO!" she demanded and shook him till his eyes opened."Dammit, Cole, you're not leaving me; you hear that!"Cole tried to laugh, but it came out as a ragged cough instead.

"Are…are you…are you okay?" he coughed up.Westlake chuckled at him.Here was her partner lying in a scorched heap, and he was asking if she was okay?

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied."We got the bastards!" she said with a winning smile.

"And…and Dorian?" Cole coughed out.Westlake contemplated how to answer him.She placed her hand on his burnt cheek, and she saw a relief in his worn out eyes.

"When you're healed, we'll get him together, okay?" she said as a tear rolled down her cheek.Cole grimaced from the extreme pain but raised his hand and wiped away her tear.

"Get him for me, Cameron," he said softly, and his eyes closed.

"Cole!Don't you dare!" Westlake ordered and shook him violently, but Cole didn't budge."Damn you, Thomas Cole, don't you dare do this to me!"Westlake roared as she felt her eyes watering."Where the hell is that ambulance?" she shouted.

As if on cue, the ambulance pulled up, and the paramedics ran to check on Cole's body.They quickly loaded up his prone body with Westlake at his side, and they raced off into the cold, dark night, heading for Metro Hospital, which was a good half-hour away.


End file.
